redacted
UK[rɪˈdæktɪd]US[rɪˈdæktɪd]
adj
Edited or censored to remove sensitive or confidential information before publication.
verb (past tense, past participle)
The action of having edited or censored text by removing sensitive parts.
Morpheme Breakdown
re
act
ed
re
again
act
do
ed
adjective/verb suffix
Etymology
The word "redacted" originates from the Latin verb redigere, meaning "to bring back, reduce to a certain state," which itself is a compound of re- ("back, again") and agere ("to do, drive"). Through Late Latin redactus, the past participle of redigere, it entered English via the French rédiger with the sense of "to edit, arrange." The modern, specific meaning of censoring or obscuring text for security purposes developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries, particularly within governmental and journalistic contexts. The morphemes thus narrate a logical progression: to "do again" or "drive back" text, implying a process of revision, which evolved into the selective removal of information.
Analysis
Structure: re (again) + act (do) + ed (adjective/verb suffix)
- re: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "again" or "back".
- act: Latin origin (from actus, past participle of agere "to do, drive"), meaning "to do" or "to perform".
- ed: Old English origin, a suffix used to form past tense and past participles of verbs, or adjectives from verbs.
Examples
The government report was heavily redacted before its public release.
She redacted the personal details from the document to protect privacy.
The released emails contained several redacted paragraphs marked with black boxes.